Flight 17 was being called as I strolled into the Jasper Tramway parking lot just before noon Sunday, about 200 meters higher and several kilometers from the starting point of my hike into the hills.

Trucks, cars, land yachts and motorcycles passed me on the road in a steady procession, so I wasn’t surprised to find the lot full and spilling vehicles down the road, or that the number of people lined up for tickets was edging past the 200 mark: just what you would expect for a bright, clear morning in the middle of a holiday weekend. 

A tram whisked silently overhead, sardined with passengers with faces pressed against the windows to take in the panoramic views of the Athabasca, Miette and Maligne valleys, and the serrated ranks of mountain crests, east and west. 

According to the Tramway website, the flight from the parking at roughly 1,240 meters to the upper station at 2,277 meters takes just 7.5 minutes, during which time the car operator fills the heads of passengers with fascinating facts about the tramway (built in 1964) and  what they are seeing. 

The tram car grew small against the backdrop of forest and rock, then vanished into the bowels of the upper station with its licensed restaurant and viewing decks.  A few minutes later, a car returned, laden with human cargo that it disgorged in the manner of cartoon circus clowns that spill in impossible numbers from a ridiculously small car. 

The website says the cars travel at about six meters per second, propelled by an electric motor that develops 264 horsepower. The car weighs in at 1350 kg and carries a payload of up to 14,850 kg, which adds up to 30 passengers and an operator, give or take an extra serving or two of poutine or sausage, grits and gravy .

A rough calculation told me that the queue of  the sun-baked and bored added up to a two-hour wait – not including line-jumping tour groups or savvy riders who called in reservations. While I mulled the proposition, I toured the facilities: rest areas crowded with waiting passengers, a gift shop with the usual offerings of souvenirs and refreshments, but nothing more bracing than bottled water. The viewing platforms offer a sample of what to expect from the upper elevation – expansive vistas of the valley.

The main reason for my flight up the mountain was the hike down via Whisters, which promised a chance to get close and personal with a hoary marmot or two, and maybe a willow ptarmigan. But with the wait lengthening to mid afternoon when rain was forecast, I chose to retreat and live to hike another day. The lesson of the curtailed adventure: start early and reserve ahead.